House panel issues subpoenas on Colo. mine waste spill

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Republican chairman of a House committee has issued subpoenas to the Obama administration seeking documents related to a review of 3-million-gallon wastewater spill from a Colorado mine last summer.

Rep. Rob Bishop of Utah, chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee, is seeking documents from the Interior Department and the Army Corps of Engineers related to the Army Corps' peer review of Interior's investigation into the spill. The Aug. 5 spill at the long-inactive Gold King Mine in southwestern Colorado was caused by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Bishop said Interior has interfered with the committee's review of the spill and blocked release of important information.

FILE - In this Aug. 14, 2015 file photo, water flows through a series of sediment retention ponds built to reduce heavy metal and chemical contaminants from the Gold King Mine wastewater accident, in the spillway about a quarter-mile downstream from the mine, outside Silverton, Colo. House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Rep. Rob Bishop, R-Utah has issued subpoenas to the Obama administration seeking documents related to a review of 3-million-gallon wastewater spill from a Colorado mine last summer. (AP Photo/Brennan Linsley, File)

Army Corps officials have "serious reservations" about the accuracy of Interior's report, Bishop said, but "the full nature" of their concerns remains unclear, due to Interior's efforts to redact and withhold documents.

An Interior Department spokeswoman said the agency has been responsive to the committee's requests, including testimony by Interior Secretary Sally Jewell, briefings for committee staff and release of thousands of pages of documents.

"Interior is willing to continue to work to accommodate the committee's oversight interest but given our level of cooperation to date, we believe that a subpoena is premature," spokesman Jessica Kershaw said Thursday.

A spokesman for the Army Corps said the agency is reviewing the subpoena.